A new leader has been selected for the Indiana National Guard.
Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger, who has led the state’s National Guard for 11 years, is retiring next month. This week, Gov. Mike Pence named his replacement.
Brig. Gen. Courtney P. Carr, who currently serves at the Pentagon in Washington, will take over for Umbarger at the end of next month. Carr is on assignment but previously lived in Columbus, Umbarger said. His background includes more than 30 years of experience, including leading the largest Indiana Army National Guard deployment since World War II.
In 2007, Carr was chosen as commander of the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team when the group of 4,500 deployed to Iraq. He previously was chosen as commander of a group that deployed to Bosnia after the 9/11 attacks and for a training organization for officers and sergeants, according to a news release. Carr also served as president of the Columbus Economic Development Board from December 2006 to August 2010.
Umbarger said he has watched Carr in various leadership roles and is confident he will be an excellent leader for the state’s National Guard.
“If you really look at his career, he’s had all the tough jobs and is totally qualified to step into this job,” Umbarger said. “He came up through the ranks.”
Last year, Umbarger announced he would be retiring after 45 years of military service, including 11 years as the adjutant general. Pence noted he is the second-longest-serving adjutant general in the state’s history, according to the news release.
Umbarger said he decided now was a good time to retire, especially with a good group of younger general officers, all who are highly qualified for the job.
“I felt there was a good bench for the governor to make his selection from,” he said.
Umbarger said he made recommendations of who he thought would be good for the job, but Pence made the selection. Now, Umbarger will help in the transition, including taking part in the state’s budget planning before the end of this year’s legislative session.
Carr will take over at the end of May, returning to Indiana from Washington, where he is serving as deputy director of operations, readiness and mobilization for the U.S. Army.
“With more than three decades of devoted military service, Brigadier General Courtney P. Carr’s background and expertise make him an unmatched choice for Indiana’s adjutant general,” Pence said in a news release.
“I am confident his leadership and vision will serve well the more than 14,000 men and women who make up the Indiana National Guard.”
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Name: Brig. Gen. Courtney P. Carr
Residence: From Columbus, currently on assignment at the Pentagon
New job: Selected to be the adjutant general of Indiana, leading the state’s National Guard.
Current job: Deputy director of operations, readiness and mobilization for the U.S. Army at the Pentagon in Washington
Military experience: Graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1983; commander of the 1st Battalion of the 151st Infantry, where he led several hundred soldiers and deployed with them to Bosnia; commander of the 138th Regiment Combat Arms in Edinburgh, a training organization for officers and sergeants; and commander of the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, composed of about 4,500, which deployed to Iraq
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